Journey to the West: Demon Emperor: Beginning as a Little Toad

Chapter 435: The Fairy of Divine Ying and the Immortal Crimson Pearl Herb
In the heavenly palace, clouds and mist are lingering, and celestial music is floating in the air.

The sixteenth heaven layer.

The peony garden is filled with the fragrance of flowers and creates a peaceful scene.

……

The attendant Shenying was dressed in gorgeous clothes, with a smile on his face, holding a jade pot in his hand, walking slowly on the path among the flowers. The pot was filled with precious nectar from heaven.

He was watering a small weed among the peonies.

The attendant Shenying gently shook the kettle, and the crystal nectar water sparkled brightly in the sunlight.

He smiled and said to the blade of grass:

"I'll water the other flowers first."

"All the remaining nectar is yours, Xiaocao, you must enjoy it well."

Upon hearing this, the grass shook its two tender green leaves gently, and skillfully shook the nectar into the kettle beside it, and said in a pretended angry tone:

"Humph, I knew that if others didn't pick and choose, they wouldn't give me the leftovers."

"I thought I was different from the other little plants and flowers. I guess I was just being self-willed."

Upon seeing this, the attendant Shen Ying stepped forward and explained sincerely:
"That's not the case, Sister Xiaocao, you misunderstood."

"I specially reserved this nectar for you. Every drop of it is of the finest quality."

"If you don't believe me, I'll water you a little more and you can taste it and see if it's different from what other flowers get."

The grass's two little leaves were on their hips, looking very cute. She said:

"That makes me look petty and fussy."

"Brother is really good at talking. He has confused me."

The attendant Shen Ying waved his hands and explained eagerly:

"No, no, why would Sister Xiaocao care about such a small thing?"

"You are just a little grass. You don't know the rules of heaven yet. You don't understand my painstaking efforts."

Hearing this, the grass trembled its leaves slightly, as if smiling:

"Brother, when you say that, it seems like I am not very sensible."

"Please don't take it to heart, or I'll be very upset."

The attendant Shen Ying felt somewhat helpless, sighed, and said softly:

"It's not your fault, Little Grass Sister. You are just a little grass that knows nothing. How could I bother with you?"

"It's just a waste of words."

The grass twisted its leaves and said in a pretended angry tone:

"Brother, if you think I'm boring, go water other plants and flowers tomorrow and don't bother with me, a little ignorant weed."

Upon hearing this, the waiter Shenying became anxious and his hands trembled, causing the kettle to accidentally slip out of his hands and fall to the ground with a bang, splashing water everywhere.

He said angrily:

"Hmph, you are playing the lute to a cow. You are a little grass, you really know nothing. I won't talk to you anymore!"

As he spoke, the attendant Shen Ying looked slightly annoyed.

The grass snorted disdainfully, and its leaves swayed gently, as if mocking his gaffe:
"Look, I just said a few more words and my brother is like this."

"But my brother disliked me in the end. I am not as pretty as other little girls and flowers, and I can please my brother."

The attendant Shen Ying said angrily:
"You little grass, why are you so unreasonable? When have I ever disliked you? Don't make random suspicions!"

Xiao Cao said, with a hint of anger in her voice:
"If you have this attitude, you might as well just ignore me. It would make me seem unreasonable. I am just a small blade of grass. Why should you worry about me so much?"

As he spoke, the grass shook its leaves, handed over a red fruit it had grown, and continued:
"I have been nourished by so much nectar, and brother should eat my fruit, so that we are even now."

"I know in my heart that I am not as interesting as other little plants and flowers. After all, my brother doesn't have me in his heart."

"Hey……"

The attendant Shen Ying sighed, speechless, but a ripple appeared in his heart. He looked at the bright red fruit, feeling mixed emotions.

The grass said quietly:
"If you don't want to talk, then don't talk. After all, you are annoying people by being too talkative."

"I am just an insignificant weed in this peony garden. Why do you need my brother to explain so much?"

The waiter Shenying did not take the fruit. He just looked at Xiaocao steadily, with a hint of determination in his eyes:
"You are different from other flowers and grasses."

"You are the only one among all the flowers and plants in this garden who has intelligence."

"Although I water so many flowers and plants every day, in my heart, there is only a little grass like you..."

"Don't say that again. It hurts my feelings."

Xiao Cao smiled, with a hint of bitterness in his words:
"Look, you're just making up stories again. If I believed them, I'd probably cry my heart out."

"I am just a small weed in this peony garden, living under someone else's roof. Three hundred and sixty days a year, I am harshly pressed by the wind and frost."

"I don't know when it was shoveled away by the Peony God."

"I always half believe and half doubt what my brother says, and I dare not take it completely seriously."

The attendant Shen Ying spoke, his voice full of sincerity:

"Sister Xiaocao, everything I said is true, and heaven and earth can bear witness to it. Why don't you understand my feelings?"

"I treat you differently, so please stop doubting me."

Xiao Cao turned her head and looked at the attendant Shen Ying. A hint of doubt flashed across her eyes, and then turned into deep worry. She said:

"Are you serious, brother?"

"Don't forget what you said. If you try to amuse me today and forget about it tomorrow, it will really make me sad for nothing."

The attendant Shen Ying said seriously, his eyes revealing an unquestionable determination:

"No, I am sincere to you, but this peony garden is not a place to stay for long."

"You are still a small blade of grass, hiding in this peony garden. Covered by a bunch of peonies, it is not easy to find you."

"But it will be difficult to do if it grows bigger."

"Who knows, one day the Peony God will find me and kill me."

At this point, the attendant Shen Ying paused, with a hint of relief in his tone:
"However, fortunately, this 'Peony God' is lazy at work and doesn't take care of the peony garden much..."

"I don't know where the 'Peony Goddess' has gone. I often don't see her..."

"For now, I can still hide it for some time."

"After some time, when your cultivation level has improved and you can withstand the hardships, I will plant you in a secluded place by the Tianhe River."

"I remember there is a spiritual river near the West Heaven Gate. The environment along the river bank is pretty good, and Pegasus doesn't often go there to eat aquatic plants."

"I am a stone spirit, but I can separate a piece of stone from my stone body to look after you."

"I'll bring you some nectar to water it when I have time."

"I hope you can shed your plant body as soon as possible, cultivate into an immortal body, and go to the lower world. That way, you may be freer."

"This peony garden is too lonely. I also want to go down to the mortal world to take a look."

Speaking of this, the attendant Shenying felt a little yearning and was obviously tempted to become a mortal.

Hearing this, Xiao Cao felt both moved and sad, and sighed softly:

"It is hard for me to repay my brother's kindness in watering me with the sweet dew."

"I will always remember this friendship and will never forget it."

Upon hearing this, the attendant Shen Ying's eyes flashed with helplessness and envy. He sighed:

"I heard that the 'Great Sage Equaling Heaven Sun Wukong' in heaven is also a stone spirit, a stone monkey born from heaven."

"The Monkey King and I are both from the Stone Clan. I don't know how he has cultivated such great abilities. Even Marshal Nezha is no match for him. I am really envious of him."

"Xiaocao, Xiaocao, if I had the ability of the Monkey King, I would be able to protect you. Why do I have to be so sneaky?"

After hearing this, Xiao Cao thought for a moment and then said:

"I heard that monkeys love to eat fruits. If the fruits I produce are useful..."

"You should take the Great Sage Equaling Heaven, Sun Wukong, as your master and learn some skills..."

"But the greater your ability, the more things you have to do, and it may not be as comfortable as being a flower god's servant."

Suddenly, the attendant Shen Ying became alert. His ears moved slightly, as if he had sensed something. He whispered to Xiao Cao:
"Xiao Cao, don't talk, someone is coming."

After saying this, the attendant Shenying quickly covered the grass and cleverly concealed her figure with the branches and leaves of the peony flowers beside her. She pretended nothing had happened and continued to take care of the peony garden, as if nothing had happened.

……

In front of the peony garden, Xiao Chen and Princess Wan Sheng showed their identity tokens and mission tokens. The guards respectfully let them in. Xiao Chen and Princess Wan Sheng walked into the peony garden.

In this peony garden surrounded by fairy air, thousands of peonies are in full bloom, like a rainbow falling into the mortal world, brilliant and colorful, dazzling the eyes.

Everywhere you look, the garden is filled with colorful flowers and intoxicating fragrance.

This peony is different from ordinary peonies. Each one of them contains a strong fairy spirit. The red peony is as gorgeous as the morning glow; the pink peony is like a shy girl with blushing cheeks; the yellow peony is free and bright, with a graceful demeanor; the purple peony is calm and mysterious, with an extraordinary demeanor; and the white peony is pure and flawless, like a fairy emerging from the bath...

Each peony seems to condense the spiritual energy between heaven and earth. The petals are layered and delicate like silk, with dewdrops rolling lightly between them, flashing with little spiritual light.

The petals, nourished by the fairy dew, appear particularly thick and delicate, with a lustrous luster, as if with a light touch they would turn into fairy flowers that float all over the garden.

As the breeze blows gently, a faint fragrance wafts out from the petals. It is a fragrance from heaven, which makes people feel peaceful and forget all the troubles of the world.

Princess Wansheng suddenly pointed at a purple peony and said softly:
"Look, that's 'Yaoguang Fairy Flower'..."

Xiao Chen looked in the direction the princess pointed, and saw the giant flower known as "Yaoguang Fairy Flower" standing tall in the center of the garden.

Its petals are like carefully carved purple gems, reflecting dazzling light, echoing the light of the stars in the sky, sparkling with dazzling brilliance.

Xiao Chen couldn't help but admire:

"This flower is truly a treasure from heaven, rarely seen in the mortal world."

Princess Wansheng was also an expert in plants and trees. She knew all these flowers by heart. She pointed to a white peony and said,

"This is the 'Heavenly Fairy Drunk'. The fairy air in the pistil is endless and intoxicating."

"I heard that the fragrance of this flower has a calming effect on the mind. If you can smell this fragrance often, I'm afraid your practice will be twice as effective with half the effort."

Xiao Chen looked as he was told, and saw that fairy-like peony occupied one spot alone. Its petals were glowing with a faint light, and fairy air was rising from the stamens, as if it had condensed the essence of the entire peony garden.

……

"This Jade Emperor is really a man who enjoys life. There are so many treasures in a peony garden..."

"This little life is so damn cool..."

"A real man's life should be like this, he should have the most beautiful woman in the three realms, he should be in the highest heaven and look down on all living beings..."

"Compared to the happy life of the Jade Emperor, the Lord of the Three Realms, my life as a demon king is just like that of a local rich man..."

Xiao Chen couldn't help but sigh.

"Are you two the heavenly soldiers who came to capture the earthworm fairy insect?"

The attendant Shenying came forward and asked Xiao Chen and Princess Wansheng.

"Exactly."

Xiao Chen asked the attendant Shen Ying:

"Where is the Peony God?"

The one who issued this task was the Peony God. It should be the Peony God who came out to tell them the details of the task, but it was a waiter who came.

The attendant Shen Ying shook his head slightly and replied softly:

"The Peony God is not in the garden today, but you two don't need to worry. I am the flower god's attendant 'Shen Ying', and I will lead you two there."

"Oh? Are you the Fairy Shenying?"

Xiao Chen was slightly surprised when he heard this and asked the waiter Shenying.

"It's me."

The attendant Shenying spoke.

"The Divine Ying Waiter..."

"Jia Baoyu's previous life..."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Chen looked at the attendant Shen Ying seriously.

He looked at the waiter in front of him and saw that his face was like the bright moon on Mid-Autumn Festival, bright and flawless; his temples were as if cut by a knife, neat and even; his eyebrows were as if painted with ink, deep and distant; his face was like peach petals, pink and handsome.

This attendant Shenying is indeed handsome.

At this moment, Xiao Chen couldn't help but think of the background of "Dream of Red Mansions".

The original name of "Dream of the Red Chamber" is actually not "Dream of the Red Chamber".

The name given by the original author Cao Xueqin is actually "The Story of the Stone".

"Dream of the Red Chamber" was renamed by later generations.

To a certain extent, "A Dream of Red Mansions" is also a mythological novel.

Among them, the mythological background of Nuwa refining stones to repair the sky, the fairyland of Lihentian, and the immortals in heaven... all exist in reality.

At the beginning of the book, the mythological background of "Nuwa refining stones to repair the sky" is explained.

In his previous life, Jia Baoyu was actually a "stone spirit" like Sun Wukong, but Jia Baoyu's background was not as powerful as Sun Wukong's.

It’s just that Jia Baoyu and Sun Wukong have similar responsibilities.

Sun Wukong guards and manages the Peach Garden in heaven. To put it bluntly, Sun Wukong is actually the gardener of the Peach Garden.

This stone spirit later became the "Shen Ying Shi Shi" of heaven, that is, the gardener who watered the flowers and weeded in heaven.

Lin Daiyu is a fairy red pearl grass in heaven.

This "Immortal Crimson Pearl Grass" was watered by the attendant Shenying every day, and with the wood of the Crimson Pearl Grass, it was able to transform into a human form and cultivate a female body.

She wandered outside Lihentian all day long, practicing to become an immortal, and was hailed as the "Jiangzhu Fairy" in heaven.

Later, the attendant Shenying became worldly-minded and wanted to go to the mortal world.

The Immortal Grass of the Crimson Pearl, out of gratitude for the kindness of the Attendant of the Divine Water for irrigation, resolutely asked to go together.

She was willing to repay the kindness of irrigation with her tears throughout her life and to settle the cause and effect, so she came down to the earth, transformed into Lin Daiyu, and embarked on the road of red dust.

This story about a stone monster and a plant monster is called "The Alliance between Wood and Stone", also known as "The Story of the Stone".

"Jiangzhu" means "red beads", implying tears and blood, sorrow and pain for love, never regretting love even if one dies nine times, shedding blood and tears throughout one's life.

The Immortal Crimson Pearl Herb repays its debt with tears. When the tears are gone, the herb withers and the person dies.

This is what is described in the 90th chapter of A Dream of Red Mansions: "The soul of the bitter Crimson Pearl returns to the 'Heaven of Separation and Sorrow', while the sick Shen Ying sheds tears in the land of longing."

This every sip and every bite is destined by heaven.

……

When the waiter Shen Ying saw Xiao Chen's curiosity about his name, he couldn't help but look at Xiao Chen with a hint of surprise in his eyes and asked:

"Have you heard of my name?"

Xiao Chen shook his head and smiled:

"I've never heard of it, but I think the name 'Shen Ying' is very good, and has a fairy-like flavor."

Upon hearing this, the attendant Shen Ying smiled faintly, bowed, and said with a smile:

"Thank you for your compliment. May I ask your name?"

Xiao Chen smiled and said:

"My name is Yang Guoshan, and I am from the Twenty-Eight Mansions of the Dou Division."

……

"Now, Jia Baoyu is still serving as the attendant of the god Ying in heaven..."

"Then this Lin Daiyu is probably still a grass in heaven. I wonder if she has transformed into a human form..."

"It's still too early for 'a girl from the sky will fall'..."

Xiao Chen looked at the waiter Shen Ying and said in his heart.

However, this is the cause and effect of other people, so it is better not to interfere.

Xiao Chen looked at the Shen Ying attendant and said:

"Shen Ying, please take us to find those earthworm fairy insects."

Upon hearing this, the attendant Shen Ying showed a trace of annoyance on his face and said:
"Those earthworms have become more and more arrogant in the past few days. They have even eaten a lot of peony roots."

"I'll take you there and make sure to give them a good beating!"

Xiao Chen nodded to show his understanding and said:

"Okay, then I'll have to trouble you, Attendant Shenying. We will definitely lend you a helping hand."

then.

The attendant Shenying took Xiao Chen and Princess Wansheng towards somewhere in the peony garden.

(End of this chapter)